


True and Destined King

by KagekaNecavi



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blood and Violence, Cap_Ironman Reverse Bang Challenge 2015, Explicit Language, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magic, Memory Loss, Sexual Content, Some of these tags make it sound more harsh than it is, cloak and dagger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 20:37:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3991957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagekaNecavi/pseuds/KagekaNecavi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time an evil sorcerer took control of a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. Five years later, King Anthony is still waiting for his true love to release him from the spell trapping him and preventing him from retaking his kingdom and Steve is a soldier turned farmer, oblivious to just how important he is to the fate of his kingdom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	True and Destined King

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Of Peaches](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3991729) by [rosenlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosenlight/pseuds/rosenlight). 



> Inspired by the wonderful art from Neera found [here.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3991729) Go love on it because it is gorgeous!
> 
> Thanks go out to my beta, [ cloudyjenn](http://cloudyjenn.tumblr.com/) for making sure that this fic is readable and for [missbeckywrites](http://missbeckywrites.tumblr.com/) for prompting me into actually doing the RBB.
> 
> Without any of the wonderful women listed above - Neera, Jennifer, or Rebecca - this fic would never have been made. Love to all of them!
> 
> Title for the fic comes from the song [True and Destined Prince](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQb0bseLauU) by Heather Dale.

Tony sighed as he stretched and shifted in the throne. He'd spent a long, tiring morning in the audience chamber, and he only had a few more to get through before they would break for lunch and ... then they would be back at it. Tony groaned, standing and going over to grab a piece of fruit out of a nearby bowl. This was going to be a long day. Rhodey let out a snort of amusement.

"You seem bored, my lord." He said, eyes tracking Tony and his condition for all that he was teasing. Rhodey worried a lot about Tony, and always had, ever since they were children - Tony a little princeling toddling around his father's court, Rhodey the child of a knight and a handmaiden and as such one of the few kids allowed to run around and play with the young prince.

"Weary of sitting here all morning, that's all." Tony said, shrugging. Normally the people took their grievances to the lords and ladies ruling over their provinces. But today was one of the days that Tony accepted anyone airing a grievance in his throne room.

"Not interested in hearing about chickens?" Rhodey asked.

"That was actually quite a serious dispute. That's how they make their living." Tony pointed out, eyebrows arched.

"Yes, but why did they have to bring the chickens here?" Rhodey asked as he headed to the door of the audience chamber. He poked his head out and said, "His highness is ready for the next petitioner."

As the next petitioner was brought in, Rhodey went over and sat down next to Tony, in a chair that was much smaller and less ornate than Tony's throne. As the king's adviser, he was generally expected to attend things like this with Tony, though due to his role as leader of the knights he couldn't always make it.

The next petitioner was tall and dark haired, with blue eyes. He looked a little bit like Tony, though he was much leaner. Part of that was likely down to the way Tony's magic worked, the amount of time he spent at the forge creating. That couldn't have been all of it, though. The petitioner looked like he'd spent much of his life ill, skin sickly pale, and Tony could feel magic radiating off of him in waves, keeping him alive and well.

"What is your name and how can his majesty help you?" Rhodey asked, smiling politely.

"Arno." The man said, voice faint, and he gestured at Tony to come closer to him. Tony glanced at Rhodey hesitantly, because there was something very off about this man, but stood and went anyway. All the petitioners were checked for weapons before they came, and there were protective spells woven into all of the clothes Tony wore, even the formal garb that he wore when he took grievances and petitions.

"All right, what is it?" Tony asked, keeping a firm hold of the commanding tone in his voice, but feeling wary. By now he’d finished with the peach he had plucked out of the bowl of fruit earlier, and he fiddled with the pit in one hand, the rough feel of something in his hand soothing him.

"I want you to die, my lord." Arno said, voice much more firm than before, lunging forward and wrapping an arm around Tony's neck, pulling him close, his bare palm pressed against the breast of Tony's shirt. He was much faster than he looked and as Tony was drawing his sword to fight back, Rhodey yelling behind him, pain ripped through Tony's chest.

Tony staggered backward, looking down to see a hole burned through his clothes and his chest. The red and gold sparks of Tony's magic fizzled at the edges of the hole, clawing for some way to fix it. The hole itself glowed with the remnants of Arno's blue green magic. But even if he had been a healer, not a smith, the damage was too severe. Not to simply heal. He was on his knees, then collapsed fully on the ground, blood bubbling up at his lips, before he knew how he got there. Arno gestured in Rhodey's direction and there was a clanging thud of metal - Rhodey’s armor, which he always wore, even in formal occasions - hitting stone.

"It'll be over soon," Arno said, kneeling beside him, smiling in an almost serene manner. He removed Tony's weapons and tossed them aside as he continued, "And when you're gone they'll all forget about you and I'll be king. I'm smarter than you, better at magic than you. The kingdom will thrive under my rule."

Scrabbling for something to fight back with, anything, Tony's fingers closed on the peach pit he'd had in his hand when Arno came in. It wasn't much. It wasn't anything, really, and he'd probably dropped it when Arno had stabbed him with his magic. His sword was too far away, just out of reach, but because he was a smith, a creator, he needed something for his power to latch on to before he could fight back with his magic.

Thrusting his hand into Tony's chest, Arno pumped power into him, and Tony could feel it twisting and reshaping reality. Desperate, he flung his own magic outward, channelling it through the earth of his kingdom with the peach pit as a catalyst. Tony screamed, feeling Arno's power and his own and his kingdom's all shredding him apart, tearing his body and soul into pieces and destroying him.

* * *

 

"We should stay in town tonight." Bucky said, looking down at Sam and Steve as the two of them walked alongside the wagon. Sam arched his eyebrows slightly but Steve knew what Bucky was getting at.

"That dance troupe is coming to town tomorrow, aren't they?" Steve asked, "The one with the red haired dancer you're so fond of."

"She has nothing to do with it." Bucky said, but the glint in his eyes was obvious. "I just think with more people in town to see them dance, we'll have a good market day. Better than today."

"He's got a point." Sam admitted. "And it looks clear, like it won’t rain. We could sleep in the wagon instead of getting a room in the inn."

Steve was going to agree with them, but he wanted to draw it out, tease a little. "If we're here, who's going to feed the cows?"

"You gave them enough feed for two weeks before we left!" Bucky reached over with his single arm and lightly punched Steve's shoulder.

"Well then maybe you should go back and make sure they don't gorge themselves." Steve teased, then at Bucky's look, he nodded. "All right, all right. We'll stay until tomorrow. But you really should talk to that dancer."

Bucky shrugged a little and Steve frowned. The war had changed Bucky, aside from the physically obvious loss of limb. When he was just with Sam and Steve, he relaxed and let his guard down, but when it was more people than that he seemed uncomfortable. It really worried Steve, but he knew there wasn't much they could do aside from be there for him. It was good that he was interested in the dancer, and that was why Steve urged him to do something about it, but Sam had reminded Steve more than once that they needed to let Bucky move at his own pace.

They arrived at the north gate of the city about an hour later, the gate guards nodding at them as they headed in. They knew some of the guards, and would chat with them, but these two were young and fresh faced, people Steve vaguely remembered as being children before he, Bucky, and Sam went off to war.

"I used to change their diapers." Sam lamented once they got far enough away from the gate. "I'd watch them when their parents were working. I feel old. I need a drink."

Ahh. So that was who they were. Steve glanced back at the guards, and nodded. "I think I need one, too."

Six hours later, after hitching the wagon up in Peach Square and getting dinner and too many drinks, Sam, Bucky, and Steve made their way back to the wagon, leaning on each other and laughing a bit too loudly. Steve held his alcohol well, so he was more clear headed than his friends, though his mind still had a pleasant haze over it. Their plan was to sleep with the wagon, on quilts they’d brought along for that purpose, since it was still warm enough out to make it good idea. They could keep an eye on their goods and save the money they’d otherwise spend on a room. It was a win-win.

When they got back to the square, Steve staggered over to the tree in the middle of it instead of going over to their wagon, leaving Bucky and Sam trailing behind him. Ever since the peach tree had grown, overnight one evening in early summer, he’d always felt a strange connection to the tree. Everyone was curious about it, of course, but he felt oddly drawn to it.

“What do you think those peaches taste like?” Steve asked, looking up at the tree that Peach Square had been renamed after several years ago. Some people said the tree was cursed, others that it was blessed. The leaves never changed color, and aside from snow and ice occasionally settling on it, the tree didn’t seem to change with the seasons in the least. The peaches on the tree grew to the point where they became ripe, and then never rotted or fell off unless intentionally picked, and none of them had pits. Aside from ‘not like a peach,’ no one ever seemed to be able to actually say what the peaches actually tasted like.

“You should find out.” Bucky suggested, grinning at him. Steve glanced between his two friends to see Sam giving him a very similar grin. They were horrible instigators, the both of them. But still … he was really curious.

“I don’t know.” Steve hedged, wanting just a little more prodding before he went ahead and did it. Because of course he was probably going to do it anyway. These two had gotten him into more trouble than he could remember. And then, of course, back out of it again. That’s what best friends were for.

“It’s gonna keep you up at night.” Sam said, bumping the back of Steve’s shoulder with his, nudging him forward, towards the tree.

Steve nodded after a moment, and took a few steps towards the tree, looking over the peaches curiously. He stood under a small cluster of fruit and thrust his hand into it, grabbing one at random and picking it. Once he’d gotten it down, he pulled his knife from a small sheath at his hip and cut it in half, opening it up.

The moment the halves were separated, red and gold sparks showered out of the peach, along with a cloud of smoke, making Steve drop it in surprise. Once the smoke and the sparks faded and he could clearly see in front of him, there was a man sitting against the base of the tree, rubbing his head a little. The man looked like he’d be tall, when standing, just a little shorter than Steve, and he had dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was wearing beautiful clothes and an ornate crown on his head.

“Well that was fucking unexpected.” The man grumbled, rubbing his head. He looked up at Steve and grinned a little bit. “That never happened for anyone else. They all just had their peaches and went along their merry way.”

“Are you seeing this?” Steve asked Sam and Bucky, looking at them incredulously.

“Yeah.” Bucky nodded.

“Doesn’t mean we’re really believing it, though.” Sam added, watching the man cautiously. He was still swaying a little from the alcohol earlier, hand reaching towards where his sword normally rested. It wasn’t there - he and Steve had left their weapons at the wagon when they went drinking, and Bucky had left most of his, though given his speciality he tended towards carrying more weapons than most people could keep track of. Of course Steve and Sam both still had their small knives, but those weren’t really weapons, and were more suited for things like cutting fruit.

“A king popping out of a peach isn’t that unusual, isn’t it?” the man lightly teased, then stood and stretched a bit, wincing slightly.

Steve, his upbringing and manners overriding his sheer confusion, asked, concerned, “Are you okay?”

“Just peachy.” The man said dryly, then sighed and added, “Sorry. I’ve been stuck in that tree for … five years, I think? Five winters and springs, at least. I’m stiff and sore and hit my head when I fell out of the peach, but otherwise I think I’m fine.”

“So … who are you? How did you get there?” Steve asked, hoping someone hadn’t laced their last round of ale with something and he, Sam, and Bucky weren’t all staring at the peach tree and looking like fools.

“My name is Tony.” The man said, and there was a glint in his eyes as he pointed to the crown on his head, “I’m the rightful king.”

“No, you’re not.” Bucky argued, frowning. “That’s King Arno.”

Tony spat on the ground, the gesture out of place with his clothes and finery, and said, “I know everyone thinks it’s that fucker - I’ve heard what everyone has been saying the past five years. But it’s not. It’s **me**.”

“Tony sounds like a very plain name for a king.” Sam said, and Steve could tell he was trying to be diplomatic, but he thought Tony was lying, too.

Tony’s very bearing changed. Red and gold sparks played along his skin, skittering several inches before fizzling out, some popping in the air. He stood even taller than he was - and he was only an inch or two shorter than Steve, so this made him seem quite tall - and with his shoulders thrown back and his chin raised, he looked every inch the king he was claiming to be. “King Anthony the Smith, Man of Iron, Mage of Iron. Only child of Howard and Maria, House of Stark. Rightful ruler of this, my kingdom, by right of birth and right of magic. I feel the bones of the kingdom underneath me, the metal buried deep within the ground, and I can tell you exactly where every river, fertile spot of ground, and arid desert is in the kingdom.”

The red and gold sparks were going awry now, flying further and further away from Tony, hitting Steve and probably Sam and Bucky, though his eyes were locked on Tony and he didn’t see it. Warmth washed over him from where the sparks hit him and he could feel false memories receding. Yes, the past five years Arno had been king, but before that… before that, it had been Anthony. Had been Tony. It was obvious now that he looked at it objectively. In the years after Howard had died, there had been peace until very recently. Five years ago war had broken out all of a sudden, against the Asgardians, and it hadn’t made any sense. Before the war broke out, they’d been at peace with the Asgardians for generations. Arno somehow wresting control from Tony made it make sense.

“Shit.” Bucky said, behind Steve, and Steve knew he and Sam had been touched with the sparks and had both been brought to the same realization that Steve had.

“Yeah, shit. I - we’re sorry, your highness.” Sam said, “I have no idea what was making me think Arno was the one who was supposed to be the king.”

“I do. It’s all Arno’s fault.” Tony said, wavering on his feet a little. “Can we have this talk later? I’m not … not feeling quite so peachy anymore.” He staggered a little and started to fall, but Steve took a couple long strides forward and caught him, looking over at Sam and Bucky worriedly. What did they do now?

* * *

 

Tony woke up slowly. He felt rough cloth under his fingers, something poking into him gently, and he ached everywhere. He knew the feeling, and had felt it ever since he was a child - magical exhaustion tended to really knock mages on their asses when it hit that hard. It could have been coming out of the peach that did it, or breaking the seal on Steve’s, Sam’s, and Bucky’s memories. Probably a combination of both. He shifted, the pain intensifying through his body but really focusing on his head and deep in his chest. Yeah, that was definitely magical exhaustion. Groaning, he raised a hand and covered his eyes, every movement making him ache.

“Guess you’re awake then, your majesty.” Steve said, and Tony groaned a little at him. He heard Steve chuckle a little, and Tony opened his eyes, peeling his hand away after a moment. The sky, grey with clouds, greeted him.

“Where are we? Last thing I remember is making you remember me.” Tony asked, turning his head to look at Steve. Steve was sitting right next to him, Tony’s head almost on his lap, and all Tony had to do was crane his neck to see Steve.

“Our wagon.” Sam said, from next to Steve. Tony looked over and saw Sam and Bucky both sitting near Tony’s feet. There was also a very impressive looking falcon sitting on a leather glove on Sam’s wrist - Redwing, it had to have been, though in all of his time as part of the tree Tony had never actually seen the bird from this close. They were all sitting and lying on quilts, though Tony could see hay padding the wagon underneath the blankets, which was probably what he could feel poking through the cloth. The rest of the wagon was full of food and other farm goods, and the peach tree wasn’t far from them. “After you collapsed, we carried you here. We assumed you would need to rest.”

“Oh, thank you.” Tony said, smiling a little and pushing himself up. “Sorry about that. Apparently forcing Arno’s spell out is tiring. I have no idea how he cast it in the first place - he must have used my magic to do it somehow.”

The pain was fading, and Steve handed him some bread and a bit of dried meat, prompting another thanks out of Tony as he took the food and ate, slowly. Now that he was out of the peach tree, he needed to get to the castle again and take back the kingdom. Rhodey and the knights would help, once they knew who he was, but there was the matter of getting there. He couldn’t just waltz up in his finery and his crown - his crown! Reaching up to his head, he realized he wasn’t wearing it, and before he could even ask, Steve was telling him, voice soothing, “We took it off of you. In case someone passed by the wagon in the night and saw you, we didn’t want them to be suspicious. It’s wrapped up and stored safely in our things.”

“Thank you, Steve.” Tony said, finishing off his bread and then adding, “How far from the castle are we? I know we’re not close, but I never got a good idea of just how far.”

“Maybe a week? More depending on how you’re traveling.” Steve said, then added, “Give us a day to sell our goods. We’ll keep what we need to feed us through the journey, then we’ll come with you.”

Tony glanced at Bucky and Sam, to see if either had any objections, but neither of them seemed to, so he said it. “Are you sure you want to offer it? Everyone in the kingdom thinks someone else is king, and I’m probably in for a fight once Arno realizes I’m still alive and heading back there.”

“I am.” Steve nodded, then glanced at the others. “Sam and Bucky don’t have to come, though.”

“Of course we will. Won’t we?” Sam said, giving Bucky a nudge.

“Oh, fine.” Bucky grumbled, but nodded. “How the hell do you know our names, anyway? You called Steve by his name a minute ago.”

“Because I was inside the tree for the past five years. I know a lot about this town. Including that you have a crush on the redhaired dancer.” Tony teased, and Bucky glared.

“It’s not too late for me to change my mind, you know.” He said, but there wasn’t much heat in it, Tony could tell.

“Thank you, all of you.” Tony said, then glanced over at Steve. “Is there a forge anywhere I can borrow for the day? I need to make armor, and something for Bucky, if he doesn’t mind it.”

“Yeah, sure. We can show you.” Steve said, and they all piled out of the wagon. Tony moved slowly and stiffly, but the more he moved the more the pain from the exhaustion eased.

And then, suddenly, after they’d walked a little distance, he was hit by an even worse pain than before, letting out a cry and doubling over, clutching his chest over his heart. Steve was at his side in an instant, lifting him and carrying him back to the wagon. The pain vanished in an instant, though, and he relaxed, confused.

“What the hell?” Bucky asked him, looking wary.

“Let me try something.” Tony said, and took a few steps in another direction, hit by the pain again after a short distance. He staggered closer again, and after some experimenting, he discovered that the pain happened when he was more than about 30 feet from a spot about seven or eight feet of the left of the peach tree. After some investigation, he found a peach pit on the ground at about the exact spot that seemed to be the center of the circle he’d figured that was his limit. The others came over and peered at it, none of them wanting to touch it yet.

“This is about where you were standing, wasn’t it?” Sam asked, looking at Steve and looking down at the peach pit. “This is the pit from the peach that released him.”

“I think so.” Steve nodded, then reached down and picked it up, eyes going wide when he touched it. “It’s … thrumming. Beating. Like a heartbeat.” Quickly, he pressed it into Tony’s hand, and Tony noticed it was also warm, as warm as someone was when you curled up next to them under blankets on a cold morning. Not that Tony had done that often - the last time was when he had been a child, and he’d occasionally slept alongside his father’s manservant Edwin Jarvis when Tony was ill and Jarvis was minding him.

“Let’s see if I can get further from that spot.” Tony said, slipping the pit into a pouch at his belt and standing, walking some distance away. He managed to get further than he had before, turning and grinning at the others. Steve was grinning back, widely. “Now I just have to keep track of it.”

They ended up splitting up, Steve and Sam going to sell the farm goods and Bucky going with Tony to the forge. They’d given Tony new, less conspicuous clothing to change into, though he’d kept his boots, belt, and leather pouches. Tony had sweet talked his way into using the forge, red and gold sparks flying out of his fingers as he cast spells and charms all over the place, spelling it so that the customers would be more willing to accept a bargain, metal would be more malleable, fire would burn hotter longer, and all sorts of little things as repayment for using the space and the materials for the time he needed it. Tony could feel Bucky watching him, either amused or impatient, Tony wasn’t certain which, and Tony got started.

Without his magic it would have been impossible to make, but with his magic, it took only a few hours. He took a hunk of iron and shaped it into a long cylinder, then used his magic to mirror Bucky’s remaining arm, his flesh and blood right hand helping Tony create a metal left hand. Once it was done, he gestured. “Take your shirt off so I can attach it to you. I’ll spell it so only you or I can take it off - that way if you want it off or I need to take it off for repairs, it will come off, but no one can forcefully remove it in battle.”

“Why are you doing this?” Bucky asked, staring at the arm, eyes wide and voice wary.

“Because you’re helping me, so I’m going to help you. If you don’t want it, I can melt it down and make something else, but it’s going to act like a real arm. You’ll be able to tell the difference between this and your flesh and blood arm, but it’ll be close.” Tony said, eagerly. Bucky eyed him warily, then took his shirt off, nodding. “Fine.”

Tony grinned wide and brought the arm over, pressing it against his shoulder and pressing his hand against the seam of shoulder and arm. Red and gold sparks showered off of his hand, sealing flesh and metal together. He pulled away and the metal stayed, flexing and moving as Bucky tested it out.

“It’s light.” Bucky said, in awe. “Just like my real arm.” He gave Tony a gentle poke, and grinned even wider, “And I can feel you.”

“Good. That was the hard part. Come here and help me find some armor that fits me well enough - we’re going to shape it to me and adjust it.” Tony said, grinning.

“Oh, so you just wanted to give me the other arm to make me help you around the forge.” Bucky said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Of course,” Tony said as Bucky moved to do as Tony had asked. Having watched the town for years as part of the tree - and wasn’t that weird - he recognized Bucky’s teasing for what it was, and was glad that Bucky seemed comfortable enough with him now to tease.

* * *

 

Steve went to the forge to check on Bucky and Tony an hour or so before supper. Sam was well on the way to selling everything they needed to have sold, and he was much better at that sort of thing anyway. Steve tended to look stern and imposing until the merchant turned a sob story on him or he saw the merchant’s children - which always seemed to work no matter how many years in a row he’d seen the merchant’s children, or how old the kids got - and then he was putty in their hands. Sam was better at staying firm.

When Steve got to the forge, he found Tony shirtless, red and gold sparks all over him and his work, hammering on a chestplate. There were pieces of armor and a sword all over the workbench nearby, as well as what appeared to be a metal arm. As Tony worked, he realized that there was a horrible scar on the left side of Tony’s chest, right over his heart. It was huge, as big as a man’s fist, and it made something twist in Steve’s gut just to see it.

“Hey!” Tony said, grinning at Steve, even as he continued to hammer on the chestplate. “You and Sam done selling your farm stuff?”

“Done enough. Sam’s the one who is good at it anyway, so I thought I’d see how you and Bucky were doing. Where is Bucky?” Steve asked, going over and looking at the armor pieces laying over the table. They had a certain sheen to them that even Steve - who was mostly magically null aside from a blessing from a family friend that had caused him to shed his childhood illnesses and grow into a very strong, healthy man - was able to recognize as the after effects of strong magic.

“Something about meeting a dancer. That redheaded woman, I’m assuming.” Tony said. “He left behind the really nice arm that I made for him, because he said everyone in the town knows he doesn’t have one of his arms, and he doesn’t want to freak anyone out.”

“This is for him?” Steve asked, going over and touching the arm that lay on the table, curious.

“Yes,” Tony nodded, “the arm bonds to him. He and I are the only ones who can take it off. He can feel with it, and it’s as light as his own flesh and blood arm. It should do good for him in a fight. I also added in some resistance to harmful magic.”

“Good. Thank you.” Steve said. He wandered over to look at the armor, trailing his fingers over the surface. It, and the arm, were all beautiful. Tony was an excellent smith. “What about this armor? There’s clearly magic in it.”

“Arno got to me with magic. Powerful magic. I don’t know how he managed it, but I’m going to try to protect against it this time.” Tony set aside the chestplate he was working in, either done for the moment or able to set it aside without consequence.

Steve nodded his head towards the horrible scar on Tony’s chest. “What Arno did … is that what caused the scar?”

“I think so. I didn’t have it last time I was in my normal form, and now I do. As well, the last thing I remember before ‘waking up’ as the tree was Arno shoving his hand into my chest with his magic.” Tony shrugged. “I’d hoped he hadn’t actually done lasting damage, but it looks like he did.”

“What happened, exactly?” Steve asked, walking over to Tony and resisting the temptation to touch the scar, but it was difficult not to.

“Well, you know most of it by now. He came in when I was seeing petitioners. He got close, shoved his hand at my chest and pushed at me with magic, and I fell. The head knight, James Rhodes, tried to stop him, but Arno threw him against a wall with his magic. Then Arno shoved his hand into my chest. I remember thinking I needed to try something, but I’m a smith. My magic needs something to latch on to in order to work properly. There was a peach pit there, though - I’d been snacking on fruit, and had it in my hand when I fell - and I remember my magic latching on it.” Tony frowned, looking deep in thought. After a moment he continued, “He’d made a hole in my chest, and he pushed his hand into it then. I fell unconscious, and the next thing I knew, I was ‘waking up’ and my consciousness was inside of the tree. I spent five years like that.”

“That’s horrifying.” Steve said, and this time he did rest his hand on Tony’s chest, right over the scar. The whole thing seemed so horrific, and he wanted to offer as much comofrt as he could. But after a moment he realized that the gentle flutter of a heartbeat he should feel there was entirely absent, and his eyes widened. He pressed his hand a bit more firmly against Tony’s chest, all around the scar, then he pressed his ear against the same area.

“I - what -?” Tony asked, but he didn’t move, letting Steve do what he wished, even as Steve grabbed at his wrist and felt for his pulse there.

“You don’t have a heartbeat in your chest. And your pulse is … different. A constant pressure rather than beats.” Steve said, still feeling panicked, but slightly less so now. Tony’s blood flowed through his veins, that much was clear from the pressure in his wrist, but it wasn’t pumped by his heart. “What does that mean?”

“I’m really not sure.” Tony said, shaking his head, “But it’s not good.”

With the exception of going and getting them dinner, Steve stuck close by for the entire rest of the evening, until Tony was done with the armor and the sword that he was altering. Tony concentrated so intensely that he was he seemed to forget that Steve was even there, unless Steve said something to him, but Steve tried not to break his concentration unless he had to - like to feed Tony.

Once they were done, Tony packed up the armor and wished the smith who owned the forge a good night. They headed back to the wagon to find it mostly empty except for a few supplies, Redwing perched on the side, and Sam tending to the horses. Tony gave Steve a nudge, pointing to where Bucky was speaking quietly to a redhaired woman under the peach tree. Steve knew lots of people who had spoken with people under the tree, though personally he had never done it. He’d always felt more comfortable having alone time under it. He sometimes laid under the tree and read a book, if they had just bought a new one from the market. Though his favorite pastime was leaning against the tree trunk and drawing, if they were able to afford blank paper. It was more expensive than books were, so they hadn’t always been able to, but he loved doing it when he could.

“So when you were the tree, did you see all of those little romantic asides?” Steve asked, nodding at Bucky and the dancer. “I know all kinds of people who would stand under it and kiss or talk like that.”

“Yeah, I saw those. I also saw more than one couple actually have sex under the tree.” Tony grinned, nudging Steve. “I felt very voyeuristic.”

“More than one?” Steve’s eyebrows arched. “Wow. I wouldn’t have thought that many people in this town who would be interested in having public sex under a peach tree.”

“Apparently peaches are very sexy.” Tony said with a grin.

“I’ve heard that.” Steve nodded, glancing up and down Tony, grinning, too.

Before either of them could say anything else, Bucky and the dancer came over, and Bucky introduced them, pointing at each of them in turn, “Steve, Tony, Sam, this is Natasha.”

“It is our pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady.” Tony said, holding out a hand, taking one of hers in his and kissing her knuckles. She looked vaguely amused.

“Nice to meet you.” Sam said from the wagon.

“It is,” Steve agreed, “Bucky seems very fond of you.”

“It’s mutual.” Natasha took Bucky’s hand and said, curiously, “But James said you’ll be going away for a while?”

“Yes, we will be.” Steve nodded. “When’s the next time you’ll be back this way?”

“In about two months. I hope to see you all again, but especially you, James.” Natasha gave Bucky a kiss on his cheek, barely brushing it, but it left Bucky looking very surprised and pleased.

“Our business should be done by then.” Tony assured her, smiling easily. Steve wondered about that. Would they help Tony get his throne back and then … come back home? Would that be the end of their involvement in his life?

“Good. Be safe, boys.” Natasha gave them a wave and headed off.

As soon as she was gone, Tony looked at the others, “She looks very familiar to me, but I can’t place her. From before, I mean. I’ve never seen her while I was the tree, just heard you talk about her.”

“Maybe you know her from the dance troupe. They travel all over the kingdom.” Sam suggested, reaching out to stroke his fingers over some of Redwing’s feathers, petting him gently.

“No …” Bucky frowned, “no the dance troupe is only four years old. She belonged to another before that, but they were stationary, stayed in one city.”

“That can’t be a coincidence, then.” Steve said, glancing at the direction Natasha had gone, eyes narrowed slightly.

“No, it can’t.” Tony agreed. “But I’m not going to worry too much about that. Are you three ready?”

“Yeah. We need to stop off at the farm before we go anywhere, though. If this is going to be as difficult as you think it’ll be, we need to pick up our weapons and armor.” Steve said, and they all piled in the wagon, heading out.

* * *

 

The farm was several hours away, and during that time they rotated who was where in the wagon, getting in and out and walking alongside sometimes, driving other times. Tony had never driven a wagon, so for the last leg of the journey Tony and Steve sat in the front and Steve taught Tony how to drive it, pressed together as they passed the reins for the horses back and forth. Steve’s hands kept brushing Tony’s as he course corrected them and taught Tony the nuances of it, and Tony found himself flushing slightly. Steve was an incredibly attractive man, and he seemed to have taken a special interest in Tony. More than just the interest of subject to king that Bucky and Sam had. Tony wasn’t sure just how far that interest was going to go, but he was going to keep an eye on it.

The farm was of an average size, and when they arrived, Steve instructed Tony to stop the wagon in the front, but they didn’t tie it off. The horses were well trained enough to know that they were home and not to wander off.

“I paid one of the kids in town to come by and take care of the farm while we’re gone,” Sam said as they headed into the farmhouse, which was very homely inside. It looked lived in and loved, quilts laying over chairs and a small bookshelf in the main room, across from the fireplace. “I told her what needed to be done, and that she could eat whatever she wanted out of our stores. Hopefully we won’t be gone long enough that she’ll need to do any more than milk the cows every morning. But if we are, she knows who to talk to.”

“Good. Thanks for taking care of that for us.” Steve said. “Is there anything other than the armor and weapons you want to get?”

“Clothes, some more food?” Sam said, shrugging. “Bucky, you and Tony should put your arm back on before anything else.”

“He can actually put it on himself.” Tony said, “Or someone else can help him. But I can help him until he gets used to it.”

“Yeah, let me try it with you watching.” Bucky said, nodding. Tony grabbed the arm from the wagon and they headed off into a side room, which turned out to be a bedroom, presumably Bucky’s. Bucky took his shirt off and aligned the arm, putting it on without any real difficulty. It shifted a bit, fixing the alignment, and then he had control, wiggling his fingers and forming a fist.

“You good, then?” Tony asked after a moment of watching him test it.

“Yeah. You made it to adjust for if I put it on at the wrong angle?” Bucky tore his gaze from the metal fingers and looked over at Tony, curiously.

“Of course. It’s not like you’re always going to get it right the first time, and if you keep taking it off and putting it back on to try to get it lined up right you’ll get frustrated.” Tony shrugged. “Now, I’m gonna go see if Sam and Steve have anything I can pack up for you all.”

Tony ended up filling some barrels full of water at the well, then hammering them closed and hauling them into the wagon. He took his shirt off while he did it, leaving it draped over the wagon bench and out of the way, and once he was finished, Steve was waiting for him there, watching him with what looked like heat in his eyes. He was standing between Tony and the wagon bench, so Tony pressed up against him to reach around and grab his shirt, testing a bit.

The pants that Steve wore were loose enough not to make it obvious until Tony was pressed right up against him, but Steve was hard. He smirked a little as he grabbed his shirt and pulled back, but hesitated in putting it on. Steve had turned a delicious pink, over his cheeks and down his neck, disappearing into his own shirt.

To tease even more, Tony went over to the well and pulled up some more water, splashing it over his face and neck to help himself cool off after all of that hauling, then pulled his shirt back on, still dripping a little. He went back over to the wagon and said, grinning, “So you done packing? How about you show me your weapons?”

Steve went even more pink, but nodded, uncovering a small pile near the back of the wagon. There was a pile of blue scale mail armor resting there alongside a one handed sword and a large, round shield. The shield had a strange sheen on it, though it was not one of magic. Tony reached out and ran his fingers over it, his eyes going wide. “Vibranium?” Tony had handled it once, but it was a small, unprocessed chunk. Only enough for his smith magic to be able to identify it if he ever touched it again. There were very few other smiths, magical or not, in any of the known kingdoms who had ever even seen it, much less were even capable of working it. Most of them were from Wakanda, where the only known Vibranium mine existed.

“Yes. It was a gift, a long time ago.” Steve said, “A friend of my mother’s gave it to me, telling me that I would someday use it to save myself and what was most precious to me. I’ve used it in war, but I know it’s not what he meant. I think it was a proper prophecy - he also blessed me, so he was pretty powerful. I used to be a thin, sick kid, and after the blessing I never got sick again. I could pack on muscle, and I was even stronger than anyone else I knew.”

Tony nodded a little, “Vibranium can reflect magic. So it will be very useful. Maybe you’ll even get to fulfil that prophecy.”

“Maybe.” Steve nodded. He gave Tony an odd look, then looked back at his weaponry, handing Tony his sword, hilt first. “Here, take a look at this, as well.”

“This is a very well crafted sword. I recognize the craftsmanship. It’s what we give the army.” Tony said, looking over it and then handing it back over.

“Sam’s sword is the same, but Bucky mostly has small arms. Knives and things. Their armor is different than mine. Bucky wears black leather, flexible and light, and Sam wears red and white chainmail, usually underneath clothes. Sam tends to scout - his family has specialized magic, the ability to bond with animals, and Redwing is his familiar, so they scout ahead a lot. Bucky is a spy.” Steve paused and frowned. “And I think an assassin, but I’m not entirely certain. I was our unit captain, but he tended to get his orders from higher up.”

“Sounds like we’ve got an interesting range of skills, then.” Tony mused, “That’s good. We’ll need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to go unnoticed or at least undercover most of the way to the castle, but if not I think our first line of defence should be me making people remember I am the rightful king, as long as we aren’t being confronted by too large a crowd.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” Steve nodded.

Sam and Bucky came over, loading their things into the wagon, and once it was all loaded up, they headed out.

* * *

 

The first night was spent right off the road, wagon secured to a tree and making camp a short distance away from the wagon. Sam went off with Redwing to hunt them a fresh dinner and Bucky went with Steve to get wood for their overnight fire. Tony stayed behind to set up camp. Steve wasn’t sure they’d come back to a well laid out camp, but they did and his surprise must have shown on his face because Tony gave him a little smirk. “Rhodey - the commander of the knights, James Rhodes - insisted I know several skills like this. He’s about my age, but he rose up the ranks quickly, and he spent a lot of his time as my bodyguard. As soon as he was old enough and influential enough to recommend it, he had me spend time training in various forms of combat as well as survival situations.”

“I’m glad you know those kinds of things.” Steve said, stacking kindling and wood up in the small fire pit that Tony had made for them in the middle of their camp.

Once all the kindling was in the pit, Tony took a stick and red and gold sparks showered off of it, the end of the stick lighting on fire. He stuck it in the kindling, which lit quickly, and Tony dropped the stick into the fire once its purpose was served.

“That was pretty clever.” Steve said, grinning wide.

“Thanks. It’s a pretty useful trick.” Tony grinned back, and settled down next to Steve, on top of one of the blankets he’d laid out a ways from the fire pit.

“You’re a smith, though, right? So really most of your magic should have to do with metal.” Steve asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“I am a smith - it’s enough a part of who I am that when I was coronated they gave it to me as a title, Anthony the Smith, Man of Iron, Mage of Iron - but as a magical discipline smithy can be much more than just metal. It can have to do with control over fire, as well. For me specifically, because I’m of royal blood, it also extends to an ability to feel the kingdom. I know where the metal in the ground is, where the rivers and lakes and vast underground stores of water are.” Tony explained, drawing a map in the dirt with his finger, glancing up at Steve as he did it. Steve scooted close and watched, pressing their bodies together and feeling the heat tingle in his cheeks as he did so.

“So why did you need the stick?” Steve asked after watching Tony draw for several minutes.

“Because that is one limit on a smith’s powers - we need a catalyst. We need something to transform. For the peach tree, I had to have a peach pit in my hand. If I’d had something else in my hand when Arno tried to kill me I probably would have ended up being trapped in something else.” Tony shrugged.

“Why’d you end up in my town?”

Tony hesitated before answering. “That … I’m not so sure of. I’ve been wondering that a lot for the past five years. I had reached out my magic to entwine with that of the kingdom, though, so I think maybe that did it. The kingdom put me somewhere that it knew I would be safe and someday someone would be able to help me.”

Steve nodded. That made sense. If the kingdom had an interest in keeping its king alive, then it might send him somewhere safe. He’d heard from mages that every kingdom had its own magic, a combination of the magic that inhabited the world and the magic that inhabited the people of the kingdom, and that traveling through borders was an odd experience because the magic shifted a little, becoming less and less the magic of home and more and more the magic of this other place the closer you got to another kingdom. At the heart of another kingdom, most mages said it was a strange, foreign feeling and that even reaching out for their own magic felt wrong.

That was why, so it was said, the ruling castle was always at the heart of a kingdom. With the royal family growing up at the very heart of the kingdom, and usually coming from a line of very powerful mages, they tended to be quite powerful themselves and were deeply connected to the kingdom.

Before they could talk about anything else, Bucky came back, his own arms bundled down with wood, and he stacked it up over near the blankets. They chatted a bit until Sam and Redwing came back with a rabbit, and then they cooked their dinner, making a stew out of it and some vegetables they’d brought with them. Despite his survival training, Tony wasn’t much help there, so Steve and Sam were mostly in charge of it, letting Tony hunt around in their gear for cups or bowls to put the stew in as they ate.

It was really nice, Steve reflected, sitting on one of the blankets and leaning against the wagon as he ate the stew. Tony was also leaning against the wagon, and despite having plenty of room, their bodies were pressed together along one side. Warmth tingled along his spine every time Tony shifted, and he glanced at Tony out of the corner of his eyes every so often, smiling.

Despite the fact that they were going to be fighting for Tony’s kingdom soon, he felt content. His two best friends were there, as was a man that he … well, he’d only known Tony for about two days now, but they got along so well, and he felt like he’d known Tony his whole life. And Tony was incredibly attractive, too - he’d noticed it before, when they were at the forge, and again at the farm. With Tony pressed against him, he could feel the hard lines of Tony’s muscles, probably earned from many long hours at the forge.

When they finished with dinner, and after hours of talking, the four of them bedded down for the night, Steve and Tony happening to lay down right next to each other. Tony maneuvered so that instead of them being head to foot they were head to head and grinned a little, “I thought you might appreciate having my face near your face instead of my boots.”

“It is much more attractive than your boots.” Steve admitted, grinning a little bit at Tony.

Tony gave him a sudden, pleased grin, teasing back, “Yeah? Well yours is really pretty good looking, too.”

Steve grinned wider, “Sleep, Tony. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know we do.” Tony shrugged a little. Then he got a look on his face that seemed to Steve like he was thinking about not sleeping. But he closed his eyes and fell asleep relatively quickly, and Steve watched him for a while before finally falling asleep himself.

* * *

 

The next two days were very similar. They had enough of their own supplies that they didn’t need to stop at any towns and get more, and they were all comfortable enough sleeping in or around the wagon that they could always stop and make camp instead of getting rooms at an inn. Tony and Steve continued to get closer, spending much of their time chatting about everything and nothing. They debated the political state of the kingdom, Tony taught Steve about magic, Steve taught Tony how farming worked, they occasionally even just chatted about books they’d both read or tales they both knew.

On the third day after their journey began, about mid morning, Tony began to feel uneasy. There was a strong magical presence nearby, and he couldn’t quite pin it down. He had felt it before, but it had been a long time and he didn’t know just who or what it was. Steve could easily tell something was wrong, and when he asked, Tony just shook his head.

“I’m not sure anything is wrong, to be honest. Something is certainly … off, but I’m not certain it’s wrong.” Tony said, “I can feel something, up ahead. I don’t know how far, though.”

It took until after lunch for that vague magical unease to sharpen into a single point, and by then they could see her, heading down the road towards them and looking as casual as anything. Aside from the fact that she was wearing knight’s armor but was not visibly armed.

“Shit! Shit shit shit!!” Tony said, scrambling for the blankets covering their armor and weapons. He just grabbed Steve’s shield, though, thrusting it at him and hissing, “Keep this close to you.”

“What? Who is she?” Steve asked, looking at the woman. She was tall and blonde, beautiful and clearly powerful, wearing her armor as if she were born for it, the red and blue and gold of it suiting her perfectly.

“Carol Danvers.” Tony said, “And she’s a knight, but her weapon is her magic.” He glanced back at her, and took a breath, getting out of the wagon, forcing his face to smooth out in friendly lines.

“Hi.” She said, sounding friendly, but she looked too casually loose. Too forced to be natural. She was ready for a fight.

“Hi! That’s some nice armor.” Tony smiled at her, nodding to it. She glanced down, then looked back up at him and smiled.

“Thanks. I’m Carol. One of the knights.” Behind him, Tony could hear one of the others take a bit of a sharp breath. Either they hadn’t believed him when he said he knew who she was or they hadn’t expected her to be so open about it.

“I thought so. Armor of that quality is really rare. I imagine only those protecting the king can get armor of that quality.” Tony said, eyes a bit narrowed.

“Indeed.” Carol nodded. After a moment she said, looking contemplative, “Though I have heard about a man with dark hair and blue eyes who is claiming to be our king.”

“Who told you that?” Tony asked, trying for casual, as if it were a foolish notion, but freaking out a little inside. The only people he’d actually told about that were Steve, Bucky, and Sam. So who had told Carol and the knights?

“No one of importance.” Carol stood in the middle of the road and widened her stance, a yellow orange energy surrounding her hands, “So are you impersonating our king?”

“No.” Tony said, wishing he’d had time to put his armour on, to get his sword, but at the same time not wanting to fight her. “No, I am your king.” Red and gold sparks popped out of his body, skipping along his skin and dancing away to flit through the air for inches, then feet before fizzling out. “King Anthony the Smith, Man of Iron, Mage of Iron. Only child of Howard and Maria, House of Stark. Rightful ruler of this, my kingdom, by right of birth and right of magic.” By now the sparks had reached Carol - who had stayed still during it, oddly - and her eyes widened.

A slow smile spread over her face and she let the energy in her hands dissipate. She gave Tony a quick bow. Generally the knights didn’t bow to the king - they were his personal guard, and as such he extended a level of familiarity to them, forgoing any formal gestures unless they were in a formal setting. So her bowing now was a significant recognition of his power. “King Anthony. So it is true!”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Tony asked, relaxing his own stance a little bit. “You knew I was going to be here, but we didn’t tell anyone who I was.”

“The spell didn’t work on everyone. Not the way Arno intended.” Carol explained, grinning wide.

“Rhodey?” Tony asked, brows furrowed. Rhodey remembering him before they even got into the city changed their whole plan. They would have an ally that might be able to help them get in and get close to Arno. They wouldn’t be in nearly as much danger as they had been looking at being in. But they needed to wait and talk to Rhodey before they really hammered out a plan.

“Yes. And a few others, but Jim is the one leading the resistance. Not that we’re much of a resistance yet, since Jim has to convince people that you are the rightful king and not Arno. So far we’re a small, but trustworthy group.” Carol said, stepping closer and nodding to Steve, Sam, and Bucky. “So who are they?”

“They found me. I was trapped - inside a tree, if you can believe it - and they freed me. They are Steve, Sam, and Bucky. Steve is the one who did the actual freeing and Sam and Bucky are his friends.” Tony said, pointing to each of the men in turn.

“Nice to meet you.” Steve smiled, lowering his shield and holding a hand out to Carol. “Glad we didn’t end up having to fight you.”

“I am, too. One of our intelligence people sent word that she saw someone matching King Anthony’s description, and so Jim sent me, since I could get here fastest.” Carol explained.

Tony nodded. He wasn’t sure who that could have been, but then again he didn’t know the intelligence agents. They were on the same level as the knights - higher than their army - but weren’t part of them, working alongside of them. They had agents that were solely intelligence agents but they also had people in the army - and from what Steve had said about Bucky, he wouldn’t be surprised if Bucky was either one of them or received orders from one of them.

“Did he say what to do once you found us?” Steve asked, curiosity in his tone.

“He said that if it was actually King Anthony, then to follow his instructions. Either I could stay with him if he needed me or go back to the castle and report in, let Jim know that I found him.” Carol said.

“Go back and let him know.” Tony said at once. “It’s more important that you make sure he knows, that he can organize things from his end. I have Steve, Sam, and Bucky here if I need protection, and I have my own abilities to protect myself with.”

“If you’re sure?” Carol asked, glancing over at Steve, Sam, and Bucky. She didn’t seem like she trusted them, and Tony didn’t blame her for that. The knights were the elite, and were trained to guard the castle in general, but the royal family and the king in particular, and so trusting someone who wasn’t a knight didn’t come easy to them.

“I am. They’re trustworthy, and I know that they will protect me.” Tony said, nodding.

A warm hand rested on the small of Tony’s back, and he glanced back to see Steve standing there, hand pressed against Tony’s back, and looking at Carol. “The knights aren’t the only ones who are willing to keep him safe, even at the cost of their own lives. He’ll make it safely to the castle.”

“Good.” Carol grinned, nodding. Steve gave her a salute, and she returned it, then lifted into the air and flew off, gaining speed quickly.

“She can _fly_?” Bucky asked, once she was out of earshot, walking forward and pointing into the air.

“Yeah, she can. Really fast, too. She’ll probably be back at the castle by tonight sometime. Maybe. Depends on when the last time she ate was.” Tony smiled and shrugged. “She’s powerful. That’s why I had Steve get his shield. It - and your arm, to an extent, because I spelled it that way - can reflect magic. If we’d ended up fighting, it would have been the best protection against her.”

“Tell us next time.” Steve said, and Tony noticed Steve’s hand was still on Tony’s back. Tony didn’t move to dislodge it. Neither did Steve.

“I will. Hopefully there won’t be a next time, unless one of the knights have gone off on their own or we run into some of the army or something.” Tony gave Steve a little grin, and Steve nodded back.

“Hopefully.”

* * *

 

That evening, and the next day, things continued to go smoothly. The day after, on the fourth day, they decided that they should stop for supplies in the next town they came to.

“Does that mean we’ll be stopping to actually sleep in a real bed?” Tony asked, perking up a little.

“What’s the matter, Tony? Getting sore from sleeping on the ground all the time?” Steve teased a little, and when Tony pouted at him, he laughed and nodded, “Yes, I think we have plenty of money for that. And maybe for dinner in an inn tonight, as well, if Sam and Bucky are for it.”

“Of course we’re for it.” Sam said, grinning.

“Real beds, food that Redwing didn’t hunt. Fuck yes I’m for it.” Bucky added, grinning wide. Sam reached out and gave Bucky a bit of a shove for the comment about Redwing, but it was clearly teasing.

Steve hopped into the back of the wagon and pulled out the map he had brought along with them and looked over it. “We’re along one of the side roads. If we veer off here, we’ll join up with the main road, and hit this town sometime this evening,” he said, tracing the road with his finger. Tony leaned back from the front, where he’d been driving the wagon by himself - Steve was quite proud of him for it, because he was good at it now - and looked at the map, too.

“Got it. When we get into the town, let me know where you want to go.” He said, grinning at Steve, then he got back onto the bench to continue driving the wagon.

They ended up in an inn that was near the middle of the town. They had stopped at the nearby market to restock first, then headed into the inn and met with the innkeeper to see about getting some rooms.

“We only have two two rooms available. One has two beds and one has one bed, but it’s a larger bed.” The innkeeper said, handing the keys over to them. “Room 5 is the single bed.”

“Okay. That’ll have to do.” Steve said, smiling at her and handing over several coins. “Do meals come in the price of the room, or would that be separate?”

“Separate, but if you are rooming with us we give you a reduced price.” The innkeeper smiled, and Steve nodded.

“Okay. I think we’ll get dinner here, as well. Later, though.” Steve said. They headed towards the stairs, Steve looking at the keys and then glancing at the other three. “How do we want to do this?”

Sam didn’t even pause. “Bucy and I’ll take the one with two beds. You two can share a bed.”

Tony arched his eyebrows, but didn’t protest, instead plucking the keys out of Steve’s hand and pocketing the one that had the 5 on it and handing the other to Sam. “There you go. Meet us in the dining room for dinner at sundown?”

“Sounds good.” Bucky nodded, and the four of them climbed the stairs and went off to find their rooms.

The room with the single bed that Steve and Tony were sharing was actually rather large, and was well furnished. The bed was soft and luxurious, and Tony made a pleased groaning noise when he sat on it, making Steve think of other things that might cause him to make that kind of noise, flushing. Tony, seemingly oblivious, said, “This is nice. Nearly as good as the bed in the castle. We are going to sleep so well tonight.”

“You don’t mind that Sam and Bucky stuck us with this room?” Steve asked, hesitantly.

“No, not at all.” Tony shook his head, looking up at Steve. He frowned after a moment. “Do you?”

“No! No, I just … I was worried you might. That’s all.” Steve smiled a bit, and went over to sit on the bed, too. It was nice.

“Good.” Tony said, laying back and stretching out a bit. The lines around his eyes were starting to smooth out the longer he lay there, and Steve found himself staring at Tony’s jaw and neck, wondering how he would taste if Steve kissed him. Sharing a bed was going to be difficult.

“When we get to the capital, what are we going to do? What’s our first move?” Steve asked after a long moment.

“Find Rhodey.” Tony said, immediately. “He and the knights and spies he’s got on his side will be able to help us overthrow Arno.”

“How are you going to do it?” Steve frowned. “You don’t have enough power to undo the memory spell on everyone, do you?”

“No, I don’t think so. Not all at once, at least. Doing it on a few people is okay, but more than four or five would probably be too much, too draining. It’s not smith magic, so my powers don’t want to do it easily.” Tony shook his head. “No, either Arno has to undo the spell himself or he has to die - probably by my hand, because the spell was cast on me. Or his magic has to be taken from him.”

Steve frowned deeper than he had been. “Would you kill him in cold blood? Is that what you’re saying?” That didn’t seem like something Tony would do, considering when he took the throne he’d banned executions - something Arno had reversed - but Steve had been wrong about people before. The desire for revenge could do funny things to people.

“Not cold blood, no. Ideally I would like to see him stand trial for what he’s done. He came into my throne room under false pretenses, attacked and tried to kill me, attacked Rhodey, started a war with another kingdom, and has committed countless other crimes against my people. I’d like to see him captured and punished for that.” Tony explained, “If Arno were tried and convicted, I’d probably have him punished by stripping his magic from him with a blocker and banning him from the kingdom, enforcing it with magic.”

“You said ideally?” Steve prompted.

“Yeah. That’s what I want to happen, but that’s not what I think will happen. Arno could undo the spell himself, because he cast it, but that seems even less likely to me. What I think will happen is we’ll confront Arno, he’ll fight back, and I’ll have to kill him because he won’t stop. And because of the way the magic could work, I’m the only one who should even attempt it.” Tony said, sounding a bit tired.

“And Rhodey and the knights and spies are going to help us get close enough to someone that everyone thinks is the king that you can kill him or capture him, despite the guards that will be protecting him.” Steve said, nodding. “This is going to be very dangerous.”

“The three of you don’t have to come with me, you know.” Tony gave Steve a very serious look, “You volunteered as soon as I woke up, but you really didn’t have to.”

“Before we were farmers, we were soldiers. We swore fealty to our kingdom and our king when we went to war.” Steve said, shaking his head, “Turns out we swore it to the wrong king. The entire time all three of us were in the army, we were serving under a madman that had attempted to kill our actual king. We are yours to command.”

Tony looked pleased, smiling at Steve in a softer way than he had before. “I hope you won’t regret it.”

“I know I won’t, Tony. I remember the difference between your rule and Arno’s now. You sent crops and animals to our village when we went through a drought and would be unlikely to make it through the winter ourselves, off of what we’d harvested that year. You kept the peace with other kingdoms even when you would have been justified in breaking it. You’re an amazing king, and from everything I’ve seen you’re compassionate and kind. I would follow you anywhere.” Steve said, sincerely. He realized as he finished speaking that he was leaning down, and had gotten well into Tony’s space as he was speaking. Tony’s cheeks were a bit flushed and his eyes were dark, the blue almost lost in the black of his pupils. His eyes flicked over Steve’s face and his tongue darted out to lick his lips and only then did Steve realize just how close he’d gotten.

Pulling away, Steve felt himself blush very red, averting his gaze. He was a farmer, a soldier. Tony was his king. The idea of kissing him was incredibly inappropriate.

“How about we go down and meet up with Sam and Bucky?” Tony asked, and there was an odd note in his voice. Was he disappointed? Steve looked back over at him, but Tony was standing and walking across the room, and Steve couldn’t get a look at his face.

“It’s a little early, but I think that will be fine.” Steve said, nodding. He stood, too, letting Tony lead the way out of the room.

* * *

 

They had to wait a while for Sam and Bucky, and they made very awkward small talk as they did so. Tony had thought there was something there, something more, in the room, but maybe he had been wrong. For a minute it looked like Steve was going to kiss him.

And he needed to let Steve initiate, because if he didn’t, then he would be worried about Steve was only doing it because his king was asking him to. That was a horrible part of being king. Every connection he made, he second guessed, wondering if people were only getting close to him because he was the king, because they could climb up the social ladder by getting close to him. There were several people he was very close to that he knew for sure weren’t using him, but a lot of the other people he knew, he wasn’t sure if there wasn’t a little bit of that. Steve, Bucky, and Sam seemed very genuine, but then again he’d thought Steve had wanted to kiss him in their room. Maybe he’d misjudged them.

Things relaxed a bit once Sam and Bucky arrived, but Tony mostly let the conversation wash over him, listening to the three friends talk, smiling a little at their banter. It reminded him of Rhodey, and he suddenly missed him fiercely. Spending time with his own best friend, once all of this was over and he had his kingdom back, would feel good.

Tony was brought out of his musings by a man coming up to the table, a smile on his face. He leaned down next to Tony and said, loudly enough for Steve, Sam, and Bucky to hear, but still relatively quietly, “I’ve been watching you from my table. I have a room here, and you don’t seem like you’re enjoying your present company much. How about you and I go to my room and find something fun to do?”

Steve glared at the man immediately, but Tony felt shocked. This man was a total stranger. Someone he’d never met before, never seen before. Thanks to Arno’s spell, the man had no idea he was speaking to the real king of the kingdom. So the man was asking Tony back to his room, asking to sleep with him, just because he could. Just because he thought Tony was attractive.

That certainty that it was just because of Tony, not because of his title or his position or his power, was intoxicating.

Saying yes was so tempting. The man was attractive, and he was broad shouldered. Looked a little bit like Steve, as a matter of fact. Just in the way he was built, at least. They’d have a lot of fun together if Tony did say yes. But he couldn’t. It was more than likely that this man had come over and offered to sleep with Tony just because, but there was a chance that Arno had found out that Tony was still alive and had sent someone to hurt him. Or maybe the guy was a bandit of some kind. The man had seemed certain Tony was interested in men, so if he had powers that allowed him to sense things about people, he could know Tony had powerful magic and be after him somehow for that.

No, there was just too much of a chance that he was there to hurt Tony somehow. And, to be honest, Tony just didn’t want to do it. If he was honest with himself, he wanted Steve, and he thought that Steve wanted him back. They needed to talk about it before Tony went off and wrecked it by sleeping with someone else. But before Tony could say anything, he heard Steve growl out, “He’s with me. Move on.”

“Sorry about that.” The guy said, and smiled at them, before heading off.

“What was that?” Tony hissed lowly, giving Steve a glare, as soon as the guy was out of earshot.

“He could have been here to hurt you. What if Carol got intercepted, or one of Rhodey’s other knights isn’t as trustworthy as he thinks and they told Arno, and Arno has people looking for you?” Steve said, speaking quietly as well, but looking much more calm than Tony was feeling. And yes, maybe those were several of the exact same reasons why Tony hadn’t wanted to sleep with the man, but that didn’t mean that Tony had to be happy about it.

“So you decided to speak for me instead of letting me speak for myself?” Tony demanded.

“You were going to say yes to him!” Steve said, “I could see the look in your eyes! You’re attracted to him, and you were going to say yes!”

“I was not!” Tony snapped, and he was about to continue when Sam hissed at them both.

“You’re getting loud. If you’re going to continue this, do it in your room!”

Tony and Steve looked at each other, then Tony stood and stalked off to their room, slamming the door behind him when he got there and sitting on the bed. He expected Steve to be right behind him, and his face burned when he wasn’t.

That was just peachy. He lay down on the bed, facing away from the door, willing himself to go to sleep. If he was asleep when Steve got there, eventually, he wouldn’t have to talk to him. But it wasn’t very long before the door opened and Steve was saying, much more calm and controlled than before, “Tony? I brought our food up.”

Tony sat up and looked over at him, frowning a little. Steve had a plate full of breads and cheeses, fresh fruit and some meat. He was smiling hesitantly at Tony. Sighing, Tony patted the bed beside him. “Sit. Eat. We can talk.”

Steve gave him a wide smile and sat, putting the plate between them and waiting for Tony to take food before he took any of it himself. After they ate for a few minutes, Steve said, “You were going to turn that man down?”

“I came to the same conclusions you did.” Tony said, “As well as a few others. He could have been a bandit, for example.”

“Oh.” Steve looked down at his hands, sighing a little. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions, then. You were looking at him like you wanted to say yes, though.”

“I did want to.” Tony admitted. “If he was telling the truth, he wanted me just for me. Not because I’m the king, not because I’m a powerful mage, not because I’m the most powerful smith in the known kingdoms, none of that. That’s ... it felt good. It’s not something that happens to me often, if ever.”

Steve nodded, and ate a few more bites of food. Tony watched him eating, taking a few more bites himself and sorting out what he wanted to say. He wanted to be blunt, but not rude. And he definitely wanted to make sure that whatever he said, Steve got his point.

After several long minutes, Tony asked, “Were you going to kiss me before we went downstairs earlier?”

“What?” Steve asked, looking up at Tony, eyes wide, voice disturbingly squeak-like. Maybe Tony had been too blunt.

“You acted like you wanted to kiss me. Did you?” Tony asked again.

Steve shook his head, “Can we forget about that, please?”

Tony frowned. “Okay, fine. Let’s shelve that question, and I’ll ask you another. If you didn’t know me, if we were strangers in an inn somewhere, would you want me?”

“Tony, why are you pushing this?” Steve sounded pained. Good. Maybe he’d be honest with Tony, because this was getting frustrating.

“Because! Because when I was getting water from the well on your farm you seemed to like what you saw, and you and I seem to get along very well, and you say things about being loyal to me and you act like you really like me, but then you don’t do anything about it! What did I do to make you willing to be my subject but unwilling to be with me?” Tony asked, and he knew the frustration was seeping into his voice, but he didn’t care.

Steve set the food on the nightstand, reaching out and stroking a hand through Tony’s hair, and Tony pressed his face against Steve’s hand, wanting more of the contact. “I don’t deserve you, Tony. You deserve a much better man than me.”

That was not what Tony had been expecting. He stared at Steve, floored, and after a moment said, “Fuck what you think I deserve.”

“Tony!” Steve said, but he was grinning a little, laughter in his tone.

“No, seriously. I don’t care what you think I deserve. You’re a wonderful man and I want you. So I’ll have you. If you want me. And if we aren’t going to be together it’ll be because you don’t want me or we don’t work together, not because you don’t think you deserve me.” Tony insisted.

Steve was quiet for several minutes, and then eventually he said, quietly, “You know, I think I’m starting to fall in love with you. I know I’m not there yet - we’ve known each other a matter of days - but I think I’m starting.”

Tony’s eyes widened. That wasn’t where he expected this conversation to go. He had expected maybe that by the end of the night they would be in agreement that they would try something, maybe kiss a little. Not that.

Abruptly, not wanting to wait a moment longer, he lunged across the bed and kissed Steve, wrapping his arms around Steve’s neck and pulling him close. Steve seemed startled, not kissing back for a moment, but then melting into it. His mouth moved under Tony’s, kissing back.

They pulled apart after a few minutes and Tony asked, quietly, “Is this okay?”

Nodding, Steve wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist and maneuvered them so Tony was pressed to the bed beneath him, on his back, and kissed Tony’s neck and jaw, his lips practically worshipful. “Yes. I do want this - want you.”

“Good.” Tony arched into Steve’s mouth, letting out a moan. His hands found the edge of Steve’s shirt and pushed up underneath it, lightly scratching his fingernails along Steve’s back. “Clothes, Steve.”

“Right.” Steve sat up a little and grabbed Tony’s shirt, tugging it off Tony’s head. His shirt went next, and Tony ran his eyes over Steve’s perfect, broad, gorgeous chest, followed closely by his hands, mapping out the feel of the planes of his muscles.

Steve bent his head, pressing kisses along Tony’s jaw again, down his neck and to his collarbones. When he got somewhere that wouldn’t show above Tony’s clothing, he bit and sucked, making a mark on Tony’s skin. Tony hissed, pain and pleasure sparking simultaneously through his body. Reaching up, he pressed a hand to the back of Steve’s head, pressing it closer and urging him to continue. Steve laughed a little. “Like that, do you?”

“ **Yes**.” Tony gasped out as Steve did it again, then pressed tender, feather light kisses to the tender spot.

Steve kept kissing, and Tony reached down to push their pants off. They had to pull away then, both of them tugging their boots off and then their pants over their feet, but then, finally, they were both naked. Tony grinned wide. “I am a very lucky king. I feel like your cock should get its own lordship. It’s certainly large enough.”

Scarlet erupted across Steve’s cheeks, going all the way down Steve’s chest thanks to his fair skin, and Tony laughed. “You’re a wicked king.” Steve said, then pressed a kiss to Tony’s mouth to make him hush.

They shifted a little, and all of a sudden their cocks were brushing against each other. Tony gasped into Steve’s mouth, bucking up against him, needing more friction, more sensation. Steve pulled away and licked his hand, reaching down and grasping them both in his hand, stroking them together. Tony cried out, pleasure hitting him even harder.

“Shh, you’re okay.” Steve whispered into Tony’s ear, kissing him all over his cheeks and mouth and jaw and neck, unfairly coherent as he was pulling Tony apart. “I’ve got you, Tony. I’m going to take care of you.”

Tony turned his head, nuzzling against Steve as Steve continued to stroke them. By now they were both leaking precome, helping keep things slick for him, and Tony was embarrassed by this, but he didn’t think he was going to last for very long. Especially not if Steve kept murmuring sweetly into his ear like that.

He ended up lasting longer than he thought he would, but it was still an embarrassingly short amount of time later that he orgasmed, crying out Steve’s name and arching off the bed. Steve kissed him, shifted his grip so that he only held himself, and stroked until he came, as well, painting Tony’s chest and abdomen with his release.

“Such a gentleman.” Tony teased, looking down at himself. Some of it had gotten on Steve, and a little on the sheets, but for the most part both of them had spilled all over Tony. It was actually really hot. If Tony weren’t so worn out, he’d probably be getting hard again.

“I’ll clean you up.” Steve said, kissing Tony and then hopping up, going over to the washbasin in the room and grabbing one of the small hand towels next to it, dipping the towel in the water and going back over to Tony. He gently wiped the cloth over Tony’s body, and Tony made a soft noise of contentment.

When Steve was done and had tossed the cloth away, he climbed back into bed next to Tony, curling up beside him and half on top of him, looking content.

“Before Arno, you were the king for years.” Steve said after several minutes of cuddling, enough time that Tony if not for Steve’s fingers tracing over Tony’s chest, running along the scar there, he would have thought Steve had fallen asleep.

“Yes, very astute of you to notice.” Tony teased, and got a sharp nip to his shoulder for his trouble. He laughed and added, “There’s a question in that sentence?”

“Well, why don’t you have a queen? Or a consort?” Steve asked, sounding curious. Tony looked down at where Steve had his head rested against Tony’s shoulder, watching him a moment. Steve had said, before they had sex, that he thought he was falling in love with Tony. So was he trying to figure out if it was mutual?

“As for queens, I’m not interested in women.” Tony explained, shrugging, “for consorts, I hadn’t found a man I wanted to share my bed with.”

“You’re the last of the Stark line, though.” Steve protested, sitting up and watching Tony, suddenly looking worryingly concerned. Tony didn’t like that look on his face. “You can’t just not have children.”

“Lady Rumiko has already volunteered to take care of that,” Tony grinned, remembering that conversation fondly. “She’s a lady of the court. There was a party one day, and of course I was as charming as was proper. She got the wrong impression, and thought there was something between us, tried to instigate sex. I said no, and she suggested we court. I ended up telling her that I was interested in men. So she told me that when I found a man to be my consort, one that wouldn’t be jealous, she would like me to consider her first to be the mother of my heirs, and my consort’s heirs.”

“Really?” Steve asked, brows knitting a little. “What’s in it for her?”

“She gets the honor of being the mother of the next king or queen. In the court, if she gets that honor, that immediately elevates her status. She’ll have her pick of people lining up to sire her children. Children that she’ll get to keep in her house.” Tony explained. “Or people will line up to actually marry her and elevate their own status.”

“The world you inhabit is strange.” Steve complained. “People manipulating each other into having children together. I understand why they can’t just do it for love, because if it were all about love, you would never be able to have children, but it’s still strange.”

“It is.” Tony admitted. “And it’s not always like that. It’s just that sometimes we can’t afford to do things only for love.” After a moment, Tony asked, “Would you be able to live like that, you think?”

“Me?” Steve’s breath hitched a little, and he gave Tony a look that Tony could only categorize as painfully hopeful.

“Yeah, you. Would you be able to live in a world where all of that was going on. The court intrigue and the politics. Being with someone and being expected to rule with him but also being able to know and accept that in order to have children, he’s had sex with someone else. That you’re raising the child of your lover and someone else.” Tony explained, keeping his eyes on Steve.

“Well, if it’s the only way for my lover and I to have children, I would hope I would be fine with that part of it.” Steve said, “no matter if I was involved in the court as well or not. But I would deal with the court if it meant being with the right person. The person and supporting them would be so much more important to me than anything else.”

“Yeah?” Tony asked, and he rubbed a hand up and down Steve’s back. “You think you could try it with me?”

“More than just ‘think’.” Steve said, “I know I can. I told you I think I might be falling in love with you. I want to support you, even after we get your throne back for you.”

“Good.” Tony reached up and pulled Steve down for a kiss, slow and lingering and loving.

* * *

 

The next morning, Bucky took one look at them and cheered, “Fucking finally! I’ve been waiting for the two of you to get together since the first night in the woods.”

Steve could feel his face heating, and Tony laughed, slinging his arm around Steve’s neck and kissing his cheek, nuzzling at Steve as he did so.

“Don’t tease.” Sam scolded Bucky, grinning at Tony and Steve. “Congratulations you two.”

“Thanks.” Tony said, smiling. “We appreciate it.”

“Are we ready to go?” Steve asked. He wasn’t that thrilled with the idea of discussing his sex life with his two best friends, and they had a lot of ground to cover still, so he was eager to get going.

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Sam said, nodding. They ate before they left, and it was only then that Steve realized how different the dinner the night before had been from any meal the four of them had had before. This was relaxed and friendly. The dinner last night had been similar to that, but Tony hadn’t been participating. No wonder that man had thought Tony had seemed like he wasn’t enjoying himself.

When they left, Bucky got in the wagon and Steve and Tony ended up walking behind it, chatting and talking and teasing, an undercurrent of love and lust to all of their interactions that had been there before, just … far more hidden.

That evening, they camped alongside the road again. Instead of sleeping on separate blankets, Tony and Steve stacked their blankets up together and slept curled up against each other, Tony’s back to Steve’s front, Steve’s arms wrapped around Tony.

The remainder of their trip passed without incident, until they neared the capital. When they were about a half a day away from it, they all got into the wagon to easier discuss how to proceed.

“I don’t know that we’ll be able to get in with all of this in our wagon, is all.” Sam was saying.

“I think you’re worrying too much.” Bucky shook his head.

“What, do they search you to get into the city now?” Tony asked, frowning.

“Last time we were here, if they thought you looked suspicious they did.” Steve nodded.

“That’s outrageous! Do they just arbitrarily decide you look suspicious? I mean I can understand something like making sure you don’t have weapons if you’re going to go see the king - I used to do that, not that it did me any good - but searching anyone you feel like searching when they come in the gates gives too much power to the guards. What if they decide to abuse their power?” Tony ranted, frowning even more.

“It is outrageous, but that’s something you can fix when you’re king again. The problem now is how are we going to get in with all of our armor and weapons.” Sam said again.

“I don’t know.” Steve said. “Tony, do you think you can shield things somehow? I know that’s not how your power normally works, but if it doesn’t last too long could you do it?”

Tony was frowning into the distance. Not the same kind of frown as the indignant ‘that bastard Arno is infringing on the rights of my people’ frown, but a different one. When he realized Steve had been talking to him, he started and looked at Steve, “What?”

“In a second. What’s wrong?” Steve asked, looking in the direction Tony had been looking.

“Not wrong, exactly. I just … I think I sense Carol again. She’s about an hour’s ride down the road. Outside of the city.” Tony answered, looking between them.

“I guess we’re taking a detour to see Carol.” Steve said, exchanging a glance with Sam and Bucky.

It wasn’t just Carol.

“Rhodey!” Tony said, hopping out of the back of the wagon to go give the dark skinned man a hug the moment Carol, the man, and - Steve had to rub at his eyes and make sure he wasn’t _seeing things_ \- Natasha the dancer came into sight.

“Tony!” Rhodey said, hugging Tony tightly and giving his back a little pound. Tony hugged back tightly and then Rhodey pushed the two of them apart a little. “Last I saw you, Tony, Arno was ripping your heart out of your chest. Where have you been?”

“I was a tree for the last five years.” Tony said, then shrugged, “Or trapped in one. Steve freed me.”

Rhodey looked at Tony, eyes a bit narrowed, then looked over at Steve, Sam, and Bucky, “Okay, which one is Steve?”

Tony laughed a little and shook his head, “Don’t be like that, Jim. He’s not being dishonorable to me or anything.”

“Yeah, but I still want to know which one he is.” Rhodey grumbled.

Steve took a step forward and saluted, as was proper for a member of the army to do to one of the king’s knights, much less the leader of the knights, the king’s personal bodyguard, and one of his advisers. Sam and Bucky stepped up beside him and saluted, too. “I’m Steve. This is Sam and Bucky,” he gestured to each of them in turn, “and it’s an honor to meet you, Knight Rhodes.”

Tony gave Rhodey a very smug look. Rhodey glared at Tony and then saluted back to Steve, Bucky, and Sam, acknowledging them. “It’s good to meet you, too. Thank you for rescuing Tony, and for escorting him here. We can take it from here.”

“With respect, we’re not done yet.” Steve said, shaking his head. “We’re not going to leave him.”

“And without respect - I’ve not said anything yet, but what the fuck is Natasha doing here?!” Bucky said, gesturing to her.

“She’s the one who told Rhodey about me, wasn’t she?” Tony asked, looking at Rhodey, “She’s a member of our intelligence group.”

“Yes, I am.” Natasha said, nodding. Steve glanced at Bucky long enough to see hurt cross Bucky’s face, and he felt a sympathetic pang. Bucky had really liked her. Had she just been pretending because of her position, or had she liked him back?

“Was the dancing thing just a cover?” Sam asked, sounding angry on Bucky’s behalf.

“I actually did dance before I was a spy. And this particular stint as a dancer was because we were trying to find King Anthony, but what I did while working as a dancer was of my own initiative.” Natasha smiled slightly, softly, “You needn’t fear for James’ emotions.”

“Is your name actually Natasha?” Bucky asked, frowning.

“Yes.” She nodded, “And I’ll answer all of your other questions, too, but how about we do that after everything with King Anthony?”

Bucky gave her a tight nod and a glare, and Tony asked, probably hoping to steer them back onto the topic of the kingdom and taking it back, “Do you want me to fix your memories, Natasha? And, Rhodey, Carol said you already remember me?”

“I do. The spell never worked right for me. For the past five years I’ve had two sets of memories.” Rhodey nodded.

“Yes, I’d like you to.” Natasha said, nodding. Steve watched, curiously, as Tony went over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Since Tony didn’t have to convince her of anything, didn’t feel like he had to prove himself, it wasn’t as dramatic as the other two times Tony had done it. This time red and gold sparks popped out of Tony’s skin at his hand, dancing over Natasha and sinking into her skin.

After a couple of minutes, she smiled and bowed to Tony. “King Anthony. It is my honor to serve you again.”

Tony lowered his hand and smiled. “Glad to have met you, Natasha, and I am proud to have your service.”

“How are we going to do this? How are we going to get in, first off - I didn’t think we were allowed to come into the city with weapons, and we might get searched - and secondly how are we going to take back the kingdom?” Sam asked.

“Getting into the city will be easy - you’ll be with me. Arno thinks I’m as loyal to him as I ever was to Tony.” Rhodey smiled.

“You’ve been planning this, haven’t you? You didn’t even know for sure if I was alive and you were still planning it.” Tony accused, and Rhodey shrugged.

“I had a feeling. As paranoid as I am about making sure you don’t get hurt, I also know you’re not that easily killed. You’re tough.” Rhodey said, grinning at him.

“Yes I am.” Tony grinned back.

They ended up piling in the wagon, Rhodey and Tony in the front, Tony taking the reins and proudly showing off that he knew how to drive the wagon. Steve settled into a spot right behind Tony, reaching up and placing a hand on Tony’s back, stroking gently, liking the contact. Just as Rhodey said they would, they got into the city easily, and he led them to a house near the inner city.

After they’d gotten into the city but before they arrived at the house, Natasha had slipped away. The house was empty when they arrived, but it quickly began to fill up with knights and spies. By the time Natasha got back, there were a little under twenty of them, including Rhodey, Tony, Carol, Steve, Sam, Bucky, and Natasha.

“Can you give memory back to this many people at once?” Steve asked, remembering how worn out Tony had been after just the three of them.

“I can try.” Tony said, and moved to stand to the center of the only room in the house large enough to house them all - the dining room. He looked around the room, then closed his eyes. The red and gold sparks sprung from his skin again, spreading through the room to land on everyone who didn’t remember Tony. It lasted much longer than any time before, and when it was over, everyone seemed to remember Tony. Several people were murmuring about Tony, his name or title, though Tony was wavering on his feet.

“Tony…” Steve said, taking a step forward. It was just in time, because Tony’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Steve had to lunge the last few feet in order to catch him and make sure Tony didn’t crack his head open on the floor.

“Damn it.” Rhodey muttered, “I had no idea that was so draining to him.”

“I wasn’t sure if it was this or if it was the thing with the tree.” Steve explained, “but he collapsed the first day we met him, too.”

“Come on upstairs. He can sleep in the guest room.” Carol said, leading the way up and showing Steve where to put Tony. After a they got Tony settled, she asked, “Do you want to stay here or come plan with us?”

Steve stared at Tony in the bed for a moment, then nodded. “Plan. I’ve always been a good tactician, and I have a feeling we need it.”

* * *

 

Tony woke up to a warm body wrapped around his, breath on his neck and arms clamped around his waist. Legs were tangled up with his, and he smiled a little, pressing back against Steve.

“Hey. I didn’t expect you to wake so soon.” Steve murmured, kissing Tony’s neck.

“Really? How long was I out?” Tony asked, placing his hands on Steve’s and stroking them gently.

“Only a few hours. We planned a bit and then everyone had to leave again, so as not to be suspicious. As long as you agree to the plan, though, we’re going to do it.” Steve said.

“Okay.” Tony said, snuggling back against Steve and waiting for him to explain the plan.

“As far as Rhodey can tell, there are only two other people like him, who were resistant to the spell like he was. A woman that was called either Pepper or Virginia depending on who was talking about her and a man named Jarvis.”

“Jarvis?!” Tony sat up and turned around, terrified at what Arno might be doing to Jarvis, staring at Steve. “Is Jarvis still in the castle?”

Steve nodded. “That’s what Rhodey said. And that he’s been kept pretty much safe and unharmed.”

“Why, though.” Tony said, frowning. After a moment, he asked, “What are the fake memories? Is it that Arno had my backstory, my life?”

“Yes.” Steve nodded again, reaching up and stroking Tony’s arm, soothingly.

“Then he’s keeping him for the sake of appearance. Jarvis was my father’s manservant, but after I was born he spent half his time or more taking care of me. He’s like a father to me. Anyone who knows anything about my past, my childhood, would know that I would never kick him out of the castle. So if people think Arno now has my childhood, then he’s not going to kick Jarvis out. Too much of a chance it would look suspicious.” Tony relaxed, flopping down over Steve a little. “So, plan?”

“Right. Only Rhodey, Pepper, and Jarvis were resistant to the spell, as far as Rhodey can tell. So we aren’t going to get any help from anyone else in the castle, since neither of them are warriors. Everyone else is going to be an enemy combatant until you kill Arno. Rhodey said that Arno is no longer doing your meetings with the people. I guess he decided that was too risky, considering that’s how he got in and attacked you.” Steve said, “However, apparently Arno does hold meetings with Rhodey and some of the lords and ladies of the kingdom occasionally. One of those meetings is tomorrow. We’ll go in with Rhodey and the other knights - they still have their training grounds in the castle, so it won’t be weird if they’re all there in armor - and we’ll all head in to the meeting. Hopefully no one will suspect anything since the four of us will be with a whole group of knights.”

Tony nodded. It seemed very simple. “And then once we get into the meeting, that’s probably where it gets more complicated?”

“Yes. You’ll need to confront Arno, but we think as soon as he sees you he’ll attack you, so you won’t really have to worry about it getting complicated.” Steve said.

“That’s a relief. Wouldn’t want it to get complicated.” Tony said, a little sarcastically, but he was nodding. A simple plan was always best. After a moment he said, hesitantly, “I guess there’s no way I can convince you not to stay somewhere safe?”

“Where did that come from?” Steve asked, frowning at him.

“I want to keep you safe, that’s all.” Tony said, kissing Steve and pulling him close. “You mean more to me than I could have imagined another human being could after only a few days. I don’t want you to die for my throne.”

“I’ll try not to die, but I know it may not be up to me. I am going to fight beside you.” Steve said, kissing back.

“I thought you’d say that.” Tony shook his head, “But it was worth asking you to sit it out.”

Steve shook his head a little, and murmured against Tony’s skin, pressing soft, gentle kisses into his neck as he spoke, “If it were possible to do it without endangering you, we would have done it before you even woke up. None of us want you in danger. Your knights are so loyal, Rhodey and Carol especially.”

“They are. I always knew they were, but this just hammers it home. They didn’t even know if I was real, but they still trusted in Rhodey and that something wasn’t right with Arno.” Tony smiled. “They’re all getting some manner of reward when all of this is over.”

Pulling back a little, Steve smiled. “Come on. There should still be food and you need to eat. Then we can come back up here and get some more rest before tomorrow.”

The next morning, the other knights assembled back at the house, all of them already wearing their armor and with their weapons at their side, those of them who needed weapons. They ate a small breakfast and then got started. Tony and the others who had stayed at the house - Steve, Sam, and Bucky as well as Rhodey and Carol, whose house it actually was - had to get their armor on, which didn’t take long.

“You look very good in armor.” Tony said to Steve as they finished getting ready, Steve’s arm through the strap of his shield and his sword at his waist.

“Thanks.” Steve said, smiling a little. “You look very good, too.”

Tony pulled Steve close and kissed him. “Promise me you’ll be careful. Promise me you’ll stay as safe as possible.”

“I will.” Steve nodded, pressing their foreheads together. “You be safe, too.” Tony nodded and kissed Steve once more, then they headed to where the others were waiting.

It was tense, heading into the castle. There were several things that were different, though most everything was the same. That same-yet-different feeling was unsettling, reminded Tony even more than the slight aging in his friends that he had been gone for years.

The interior of the castle was very familiar, of course, and Tony was used to being escorted everywhere he went. Normally when he was heading around the castle he had Rhodey or Carol or one of the other high ranking knights following him around. Usually it was Rhodey. But he never had a group like this, surrounding him on all sides. They made sure he was in the middle, protected. Rhodey was in the front, leading the group and Steve and Carol were on either side of Tony. The rest of them filled out the group, and Tony glanced over them, wary, “We look like we’re asking for trouble, all decked out in armor and weapons.”

“Well, we’re close to where Arno is supposed to be.” Carol said quietly. “We don’t have to worry for much longer.”

Tony nodded a little, and they continued. He saw a few people moving about the castle, some that he recognized and some that he didn’t, and then they entered a room that Tony hadn’t used very often. It was tucked out of the way, only had one entrance, and didn’t have many windows. Because of the lack of natural light, it had to be light by mage lights, and it gave the room an eerie quality. There was a large table in the middle of the room now, surrounded by chairs and with Arno sitting at the head of it.

Rage coursed through Tony at the sight of him, and he had to get a hold of himself to not just attack Arno outright. Especially because Arno was wearing one of Tony’s old armors. One of the most powerful ones, too.

Arno looked up, and his train of thought was clear by the way he changed subjects as he spoke, his mind catching up with what he saw, “Rhodes, you’re here, I - why are all of these - Stark!” Arno glared and blue green fire surrounded the fists of the gauntlets of the armor. It drew power from the person wearing it - Tony always assumed it would be him - but it converted it into a weapon, in this case fire the color of Arno’s magic. When Tony wore it, it usually made a combination of fire and sparks, red and gold like Tony’s magic.

The knights around Tony all drew their swords or activated their magic or their powers, spreading out a little. Tony himself drew his sword with his left hand and activated the power in the armor he was wearing. It was weaker than the one Arno had, because he hadn’t made this armor from scratch and had just adjusted to fit and to have the magic in it. Arno looked over them and yelled out, “Guards!!”

Behind them, through the only entrance to the room, guards streamed in. Most of the knights turned around to face the guards, but Tony and several of the others stayed facing Arno. “You’re going to have to fight me, Arno. I want my throne back.” Tony said, even as he heard the clash of metal and the sizzle of magic hitting magic at his back.

“How is it you didn’t die? I ripped your heart out of your chest!” Arno demanded, staring at Tony, looking some combination of furious and terrified.

“I am the true king - my connection to the kingdom is far more powerful than you could ever imagine. It kept me alive.” Though trapped in a tree. Not that he was going to tell Arno that.

Arno snarled, lifting his hand and throwing energy at Tony. The knights around Tony scattered and Tony tossed energy right back, causing a small explosion between the two of them, as he ducked under it and lunged towards Arno from the side. There was a lot of ground to cover between where Tony was and where Arno was, and he had to run to try to get there, which was difficult in his armor. It wasn’t light enough for the kind of speed and maneuverability he usually had. Arno threw energy at Tony again, and this time it hit his armor along his hip, making Tony spin a little with the hit.

The armor was cracked, he could feel it. Right at the hip, and there was something, a bruise or broken skin, some kind of injury. He ignored it and tossed energy back at Arno, twisting back in the other direction and stumbling a little as he put weight on the leg with the injured hip.

Arno moved closer to Tony and threw another blast of the energy at him, aiming for his injured side. Tony dodged, but moved too fast, and stumbled again. Before he could really dodge again, Arno was on him, hitting the chest of the armor with one of the energy covered gauntlets.

The gauntlet punched right through, as if the armor Tony wore wasn’t even there.

Tony went down, and Arno was on top of him, pulling a gauntlet off and thrusting a hand into Tony’s chest through the hole in his armor. Tony bucked and screamed, but Arno just looked confused.

“Your heart isn’t here. Where is it?” Arno asked, pulling his hand out through the hole. Through the blue green magic on his hand, Tony could see it dripping with blood. Tony gasped, trying to scramble backwards, but Arno was on top of him enough that he couldn’t move.

“Tony!” Steve shouted from somewhere across the room, sounding stricken, and Tony let his head thunk down on the ground, lolling a bit and looking at Steve. Steve looked terrified, fighting his way over to them.

“Ah, here it is.” Arno said, gripping the cracked part of Tony’s armor at his hip with the blue green covered hand, yanking to uncover more of Tony’s waist. He grabbed the pouch that contained the peach pit and pulled the pit out, then started squeezing, magic flaring up.

Agony like Tony had never felt before, not even when Arno had ripped his heart out before, shot through Tony’s body from his chest. He screamed, so loud he wasn’t even sure it was really him, really human, and was certain he was dying.

Then the pain stopped.

He blinked his eyes open, unaware he’d shut them, to see Arno gripping his own wrist, Steve’s shield lying near them and Steve still running towards them. He must have thrown them and hit Arno. The peach pit was laying on the ground, charred and burnt with the force of Arno’s magic.

Instead of going for the peach pit, Tony used the last reserves of his strength to grab at Arno, keeping him from grabbing the pit. Steve skidded into view, going down on his knees and grabbing the pit and then his shield, hitting Arno with it and knocking him off of Tony.

“Tony. Oh, Tony.” He said quietly, staring down at Tony, face crumpled in despair. “You’re bleeding a lot. Did he put his hand in your chest?”

“Yeah. I - watch out!” Tony ended up pointing at where Arno was getting ready to throw energy at them both, from only a few feet away. Steve blocked it with his shield, leaning over Tony as he did so, energy dissipating harmlessly as it hit the vibranium.

“I can’t keep doing this.” Steve said after a few more hits. “How are we going to take him down?”

“Throw it at him again, next time there’s a break in the blasts. It’ll knock him off guard, and I can attack.” Tony said. The pain in his chest was starting to go away, and that seemed like a bad thing.

“Are you sure you can kill him? You’re not too weak?” Steve asked, glancing down at him in concern.

“I can do it.” Tony nodded, starting to gather as much magic as he could manage. Steve nodded, too, and after a few moments, he threw the shield. It missed Arno at first, but then it hit the back wall and rebounded, hitting him in the back and tossing him forward. He seemed very surprised by it, eyes wide, and Tony threw the magic at Arno. He hit him in the face and Arno dropped, hard.

Tony felt a rush of power, the kingdom reasserting itself. Arno was dead, and the throne was rightfully Tony’s once more. But maybe not for long. He could feel blood flecking his lips with every breath, and the pull of unconsciousness felt so good. But he didn’t give in, couldn’t give in.

“You did it! Tony, you - Tony!” Rhodey said, the celebration in his voice turning to alarm when he saw the state Tony was in.

“Arno had his hand in his chest.” Steve said, looking up at Rhodey as Rhodey sank down next to them. “How do we fix this?”

“I don’t know.” Rhodey shook his head, frowning.

“The pit.” Tony said, reaching up with a shaking hand to grip Steve’s wrist. “It’s my heart.”

Steve looked down at where he was gripping the peach pit in his hand, frowning. “It’s thrumming really weakly. What do I -” He glanced from the pit to the hole in Tony’s chest, then abruptly thrust the peach pit into the hole.

Magic erupted around them, red and gold sparks of Tony’s magic and a huge billow of smoke. Tony bucked and screamed again, pain his entire world. He could faintly hear people calling his name, and then he fell unconscious.

* * *

 

Steve ran his hands over Tony’s face, terrified, but Tony was breathing and the hole in his chest, while not totally healed, had healed up some and the bleeding had slowed significantly. “We need a healer.” He said, looking up and around at the others.

“We’re getting one.” Rhodey said from beside him. “Let’s get the armor off him. He’ll be more comfortable when he wakes.”

After a moment Steve nodded, and the two of them carefully stripped Tony of his armor. In addition to the hole in his chest, Tony had a gash in his hip, the one that Steve had seen Tony favoring in the fight. It wasn’t that bad, though, and when the healer arrived she left it unhealed, just bandaging it and healing the chest wound.

Once he was bandaged and healed, they got him moved to the royal quarters, to the bedroom that Tony had always used. It wasn’t the master bedroom, which was the one Arno had used.

“That was the bedroom King Anthony’s parents had used.” A slender, balding man who had joined them as they’d put Tony to bed said, giving Tony an affectionate look. “He never liked the master bedroom because of that.”

“Edwin Jarvis, meet Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Jarvis.” Rhodey said, gesturing between them.

“Nice to meet you. Tony told me a lot about you. And Carol said you were one of the ones who didn’t forget about Tony because of the spell?” Steve said, holding a hand out to Jarvis. He shook it, nodding.

“I was King Howard’s manservant. I helped raise King Anthony.” Jarvis said.

“So if I want to know what he was like as a child, you’re the one to ask.” Steve teased a bit. He was still worried about Tony - Tony had screamed so much when Arno had him down, he had been in so much pain - but if he pretended like it was all okay, it would be. Right?

“Of course.” Jarvis nodded, a little bit of a wicked look in his eyes. He grew serious again quickly, though. “But first, may I ask what your intent with him is?”

“I love him.” Steve said, plainly. “I haven’t known him long but I love him. He’s the kindest most generous man I’ve ever met, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“Have you told him that?” Jarvis asked, glancing at where Tony rested, looking mostly peaceful.

“Not really. We haven’t had the chance.” Steve shook his head.

“Do you think he feels the same?”

“He asked me if I’d be okay with my lover sleeping with someone else to produce an heir, if I’d be okay with court intrigue and politics. So I think so.”

Jarvis considered him for a long moment, then looked at Rhodey. Rhodey nodded, so Jarvis nodded and smiled a little. “All right. How about you get out of your armor, wash up, and we’ll teach you how to rule at his side?”

Rhodey and Jarvis turned out to be the kinds of teachers who very much liked to throw their student into situations and oversee them, guiding them only when needed. They had Steve helping to direct the shift from Arno’s rule back over to Tony’s, which seemed to involve a great many confused people wondering why they had forgotten their king for five years and had allowed another man to rule in his stead. They had Carol and Sam stationed in and outside of Tony’s room - one in case he woke, the other in case someone tried to attack him - but the rest of the knights and Bucky were assisting in the transition. There was a lot more work to be done than Steve could have anticipated.

Tony slept on. All day as they worked, he slept, and when Steve went back to Tony’s quarters, for lack of anywhere else to go, Tony was still asleep. He changed into something more comfortable to sleep in and curled up on Tony’s good side, away from the cut on his hip, and watched Tony.

“I wish you could have seen us today. I’m just a soldier and a farmer, but people treated me … well, like a king. All it took was Rhodey and Jarvis and some of the knights telling them that I was your lover or your consort and they started calling me Sir Steven or Prince Steven. I made them stop and said we hadn’t sorted out my official title yet. Are you going to make me get an official title? I bet you are. You’ll probably tell me that because you have to have one, so do I.” Steve sighed, watching Tony fondly. “Please wake soon. I don’t want to do too much without you.” He leaned up and brushed a kiss to Tony’s slack lips, then relaxed back into the pillows.

He was almost asleep when a soft noise startled him into full wakefulness. He sat up and stared at Tony, who was illuminated only by the little bit of moonlight that came in from the windows. Tony was shifting and stirring, making another soft little noise, turning to face Steve and opening his eyes.

“Steve?” Tony asked, frowning, “We … we won?”

“Yeah, Tony,we did.” Steve smiled, “When you killed Arno everyone else remembered you and stopped fighting. You scared me, though. There was a hole in your chest.”

“I noticed. Feel peachy now, though.” Tony said, a little smirk on his face. Steve let out a soft, broken laugh, scooting closer and resting his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Just don’t do that to me again, okay?”

“I won’t, Steve.” Tony reached up and ran his hand through Steve’s hair, sighing a little. “What time is it?”

“Not sure, exactly. Late, though. Hours after dinner, but I could get you something if you’re hungry.” Steve started to sit up, but Tony stopped him.

“I’m not. Was the battle today or have I been unconscious more than one day?”

“It was today. Rhodey, Jarvis, and I have been leading the efforts to get things straightened out. They’ll be glad to know you’re okay. We need to figure out, tomorrow sometime, what my official title is going to be. I had people trying to call me everything from ‘sir’ to ‘prince’ once they found out you and I are lovers.”

Tony let out a little laugh. “You can have any title you want. Lord, prince, sir, earl, duke, anything. Hell, once we’re married I bet I could even swing king for you.”

“No, I don’t think I would want that. We can talk about it more, though, but king … I feel like king is your title, and yours alone.” Steve said, shaking his head.

“Okay. We’ll talk more later.” Tony nodded, wrapping his arms around Steve. He kissed Steve’s head and said, after a moment, “I love you, Steve.”

“I love you, too.” Steve turned his head up and pressed a kiss to Tony’s mouth. He tasted of sleep, but the kiss was sweet and pleasant, and Steve stole another.

“I think I’m going to sleep some more.” Tony told him, closing his eyes and pulling the blankets up around him. Steve nodded.

“Good. I wasn’t really planning on getting up, and with that wound on your hip you probably shouldn’t be going anywhere.” Steve said, closing his eyes, too.

It took a while for him to relax enough to sleep again. He knew things would be difficult. They had to fix everything internal that Arno had broken, and they had to repair inter-kingdom relations with the kingdoms that Arno had damaged relationships or outright declared war with. But Tony was a wise king, a strong leader, and a good man. And Steve would be at his side, supporting him. They would be able to get through it, together.


End file.
